The Fact of the Matter
by Christine Erik
Summary: Rated T to be safe.  Something happened to Mickey, and Rose is resigned to his fate until she finds the one person who can help him before it's too late... the Doctor.  Shouldn't fit into the series, but it should be ninth Doctor and his Rose. Oneshot.


**A/N: Please forgive me, I know I am terrible with grammar (especially punctuation) and this is my first "Doctor Who" story, so please excuse any incorrect or misused information. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated! Constructive criticism would be wonderful. No flames, please.**

**Should be the ninth Doctor and his Rose.**

* * *

_As I sit upon this narrow ledge, I write._

_I write not of how I wish I were you, but of how I wish you were me.  
__I write this because you have not seen. You have not experienced over 900 years of life, never loved and lost as I have. You will never fall in love with a girl one forty-fifth your age, knowing her heart belongs not to you, but to another man. Another man of her own age, of her own race, of her own time. Another man who will most likely pass on before she does, not the other way around. I write this to tell you that even though my hearts break, I must leave her in your hands. I trust that you will keep her safe. I will return, but you will not see me. Even if you do, it shall not be in the way you imagine. If you do not protect her, I will find you. You will see me again and I will be the last thing you ever see._

_If you value your pitiful life and the life of the one we both love, you will leave London and take her with you. She does not remember Jackie's demise and I would advise you to not replay it for her. I have erased her memory of that time, but if she sees or hears of me, her mother, or the TARDIS again, she may remember. I am not fool-proof, after all._

Tears streamed down Rose Tyler's cheeks. "How could… I… he… I never knew," she sobbed quietly. "I never knew. Oh Lord, if I had known, everything… everything could have—everything would have been different. I never got to tell him," she added, turning to the attending nurse who had just exited the room. "I never got to tell him how I felt… Where did they find this note?"

"Which note, dear?"

"This note. The one in my hand," she said, exasperated.

The nurse took a quick look at it and said, "It was lying next to…" she began, checking his records again, "next to Mr. Smith on the pavement."

Rose stood up from her chair. "May I go in and see him now?"

"Of course," said the nurse, smiling. "It may help for him to hear your voice."

"I hope so. Thank you." When the nurse slightly bowed her head and smiled, Rose entered the room.

It all looked very odd. There, in the middle of a mass of machines and wires, was her ex-boyfriend. Even though she knew full well he would not respond, she turned to him to speak. "Why, oh why in God's name did you do this? What caused you to conceive such an idea as to… to do _this_?" she asked as she fell onto a chair next to the bed.

"Of course, you didn't really help now, did you?" she asked herself. "Oh great, now I'm talking to myself."

She sat for an hour, watching him and his monitors in silence, before she finally stood up. "I need a break," she said, stretching. "Think you could hold off Death until I get back? Yeah, that'd be great, thanks," she added sarcastically. "Be back in a bit."

As she left the hospital, she felt a strange calmness fall over her. She quickly turned around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, but she still felt that strange calmness. Her senses were on full alert when she turned and peered around the corner of the building to her left. There, in the middle of an alley, was a police box. Not just any police box, either. She could recognize this one from a mile away if she was deaf and blind—it was the TARDIS. She checked the alley and saw no-one, so she proceeded to walk towards—and knock on—the door of the box.

No response.

_TARDIS_, she thought, trying the door, _it's Rose. Won't you let me in? Please?_

After another moment of futzing, she was finally able to pen the door. Once inside, she shut it and stood still, taking in the sight around her.

Everything was a mess. One huge, jumbled mess, with no sign of the Doctor anywhere. After glancing at her watch, she said in a low voice, "Might as well get started."

Seven hours later, she was only half-finished when the door opened. Afraid of what she might see, she hid in the nearest closet. However just as she was about to catch a glimpse of his face, her mobile rang. Immediately recognising the tune, the Doctor spun around.

"Hello, is anyone there? ... Rose? Rose Tyler, are you there? ... Rose, where are you?" he asked, wandering into the Med Bay.

After glancing at her mobile to see who had called her—it was just an old mutual friend of hers and Mickey's, calling for an update on his condition—she stepped out. Instead of answering "here," she responded with a general, muttered statement. "Such a coward."

"Excuse me?" asked the Doctor (who had genuinely not heard her statement), both ecstatic and confused to be seeing Rose once again.

"I said, 'such a coward.' Both you and Mickey. You see, you couldn't face me—I understand that—but you could have gone face-to-face with Mickey. Instead, you left him this note," she said, holding the crumpled paper out to him. "Do you know what that did to him? Hm? Do you want to know? Well, too bad. I'll tell you anyway. He couldn't face me, either, and he jumped out of his window." When the Doctor showed no emotion, she added, "His rooms were on the twenty-fourth floor of a building overlooking the Thames."

After what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor finally spoke. "What happened? Where is he?"

She answered him sarcastically. "Oh, don't fret, he'll be gone and out of the way soon enough. The doctors give him a day, maybe two. And that's with life support."

The Doctor thoughtfully rubbed the stubble he'd let grow over his cheeks and chin. "See if you can get them to release him into your care. Tell them you'll take him home."

"And if—"

"Don't worry," he said, interrupting her. "They'll let you do it. Then bring him back here, to me. I'll be waiting in the Med Bay." After a minute's pause, he added, "You'd better run now. Don't waste any more time."

And run she did. The doctors released Mickey into her care, but only after she signed what seemed like a thousand forms. As she attempted to rush him to the Med Bay, she mentally asked, _TARDIS, could you make this journey shorter? _She made a right turn at the next corner and arrived at the section the Doctor called the Med Bay.

"Ahh, Rose," the Doctor began cautiously, "I need you to leave for a minute. Don't come back in until I give the word, okay?"

"But…" she began, looking from him to Mickey.

"Don't worry," he said, practically spitting the words out. "I won't sabotage anything. It's just that the instrument I need to use could blind you, so… please," he added with a serious look, "just trust me."

After what seemed an hour, the Doctor finally called her back in. "Take him home," he said, "and make him get plenty of fluids and rest. He'll be fine in a few days' time. Come back in a week to let me know how he's doing."

"Thank you," she answered, giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," he replied, giving her a quick but firm hug. "For everything."

Approximately one week later, Rose returned to the alley and waited for the Doctor to leave the TARDIS. As soon as he did—and as she saw the question forming on his lips—she said, "He's coming along beautifully. Everything is back in shipshape. We can't thank you enough. And," she added, slowly, "I wanted to ask if you would allow me to—"

"You want to travel with me again?" he asked, interrupting her, dumbfounded. "But, what... what about—"

"We're done. For good. I mean, he's a good friend and all, but he's no…" she said, trailing off as she realised what she'd been about to say.

"No what?" asked the Doctor with a grin. "What is he not?"

"Well," she said with an embarrassed grin, "he's no…you."

She let him walk right up to her. "Did you read the note?"

"Yes," Rose replied, nodding. "I did. And I never knew. If I had, things could have been—things _would_ have been—different."

"I know. And I'm sorry I put you through all of this. Quite frankly, I don't deserve you. I don't want you to leave me, but I don't want you to stay."

"Don't you understand?" she asked. "You see, the fact of the matter is that I feel the same way about you, Doctor. I really do," she said, hugging him to her.

He held her away slightly. "There are far worse creatures and beings out there than Daleks than you've seen." He looked at her warningly before continuing. "Yes, you will face them, and yes, they are cruel and evil; however, if you choose to travel with me, we will face them—and their evils—together.  
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked. "You truly might never be able to return here again."

She looked him squarely in the eye as she responded. "I am."

"Alright. Let's get going then, shall we?" he asked with a coy smile, placing his arm around her waist and kissing her gently.

"Yes," she said, tenderly caressing the outline of his face as they entered the TARDIS. "Let's."

* * *

**And so the story ends.**

**Hope you liked it. Please, please review! It really helps me out quite a bit and I enjoy seeing what you have to say. :D**


End file.
